Civil news: fee claim changes to HPCDS contract
Changes to the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme contract came into force on 1 November 2021.
We are making 2 changes to the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS) contract.
What does this mean?
The following contract changes took effect on 1 November 2021 and will initially be in place until 30 April 2022:
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providers will now be able to claim both the HPCDS fee and the legal help matter start fee when a client assisted through the HPCDS goes on to be assisted under legal help
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where a provider attends court for a possession listing and no clients are seen, i.e. a nil session, or only one client is seen, they will now be able to claim as though they have seen 2 clients i.e. 2 HPCDS fees will be claimed and paid
These rules apply to all HPCDS claims from 1 November 2021 irrespective of when the listed hearing took place.
The arrangements will be reviewed on a 6 month rolling basis.
The revised contract is available on the standard civil contract 2018 GOV.UK page.
Further information
Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes (HPCDS) – for revised HPCDS provider guidance and reporting tools
Standard Civil Contract 2018 – to view 2018 civil contract documents